Zutara: The Blue Spirit Rises
by Pocahontas Knight
Summary: Long after the Hundred Year War ends, a new trouble arises... A mysterious enemy lurks on the horizon to bring chaos and destruction to the world. Struggling between love and hate, Zuko will risk anything and everything to save the day. However, will everything fall apart as Zuko delves into the depths of his destiny while falling into a forbidden love?
1. Prologue: Spirited Away

***** First FanFic! Hope you enjoy!*****

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**Prologue:**

**Spirited Away**

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The night cloaked the land in a dreamy darkness. The stars glittered across the sky in their silvery, nebulous light. The rays of a silver crescent moon cascaded into every place that wasn't already painted with shadows. Inside a castle a girl slept in her bed, dreaming away in serenity. Little did the sleeping girl know was that a silhouette had crept along the outside wall of the castle and climbed up onto a balcony outside her room. The silhouette peered into the girl's room as she slept dreamily, far off in the clouds. This silhouette had done this many times before. He couldn't stay away. He had to make sure she was okay.

The silhouette adjusted his blue mask. It had felt like eons ago when he had chosen to rescue Avatar Aang. Now, he stood here in his blue mask and dual words protecting the one person he thought he'd never thought he'd have to protect. He promised to never wear the mask again. He never thought he would break that oath to himself. He never desired to be the Blue Spirit ever again.

Zuko ripped off his Blue Spirit mask in frustration.

He revealed his face to the moonshine. Shaggy black hair, pale skin and gold eyes and the burn from his father who had once banished him, was marred into the left side of his face. Zuko sighed. He didn't want to disturb the sleeping girl or creep her out by being out there if she awoke. Maybe he should just leave. Nothing bad was going to happen to her, not since Aang and her got together...

Jealousy blistered through him. Every time they kissed... every time they touched... every time they looked at one another it inflamed him more. He could feel the fiery loathing of it all burn deeper and deeper inside him. Zuko knew she would never love him like that. He knew she would never touch him like that or kiss him like that. He knew! He knew... The way she looked at Aang. She loved Aang. She didn't love him. Zuko only spent his days listening to the depressing comments of his girlfriend Mai who could never for once find hope and solace in a better tomorrow... not like her. "Katara..." He finally uttered. Zuko then slipped on his mask. He once again became the Blue Spirit and leapt off the balcony to return to his life as the Fire Lord.

The Blue Spirit vanished into the night away from Katara, who was still asleep. Katara rolled over and mumbled, "Blue Spirit..." Right then she jolted awake and looked out her window. She had dreamt about him. Katara hopped out of bed and ran to her balcony. She had dreamed he was right there, standing right there. When she saw no one, Katara sighed, crestfallen. "Blue Spirit..." She murmured and took a glimpse of the starry, starry night before returning to her bedchamber. She climbed into her bed and curled up. What was she thinking? Why was she dreaming about the Blue Spirit? The Blue Spirit had saved her, and he was so... mysterious. Katara felt her heart mystifyingly yearn for him. Deep within, an electrifying thrill fluttered inside of her. It was like she knew him, but at the same time she didn't. She'd never felt this way about anyone before. Then the idea hit her. Maybe she was crazy? She found herself falling for the Blue Spirit, who only saved her life that one time. Yet, the mystery of it all was so enrapturing and mystifying, Katara couldn't help herself but fall deeper and deeper into the unknown oblivion. Katara closed her eyes as she felt euphoria wash over her and slowly returned to her mystical dreams.

Little did Katara know, it was Zuko who had been on that very balcony watching her as the Blue Spirit. Zuko hid in a tree below her balcony, enshrouded by the shadow of night. He'd seen her run out to the balcony, calling the Blue Spirit's name. He'd seen the faint dispirited look on her face as she realized no one was there... It agonized Zuko to see her wounded by something like that. Just the idea of the Blue Spirit out on her balcony enthralled her. Zuko gazed up at the twinkling stars and then winced. He realized the one thing he'd rejected from his heart... in the end, Katara and him were too divergent from one other. She was ice. He was fire. It was never meant to truly be.

"You rise with the moon... I rise with the sun," Zuko finally muttered as he gazed at the balcony, reminding himself of the vast chasm between him and Katara. Yet, somehow, when he was the Blue Spirit, it felt as though Katara and him were as close to each other's hearts as they could get without freezing or burning one another. In someway, somehow, the Blue Spirit had spirited her away.

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*****STAY TUNED*****

_**Chapter One: Masquerade**_

**It is the beginning of star-crossed love when Zuko saves Katara, but at what cost? And how will the Triumph Masquerade Ball go down in Ba Sing Se when secrets soon become unveiled? And finally, what new threat lurks in that shadows that threatens to destroy the balance of harmony that has settled amongst all the nations?**

**Find out next time on...**

** Zutara: The Blue Spirit Rises**

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*****FINALLY*****

*****THANKS FOR READING!*****

**Also:**

**Please fellow Fanfic writers and Zutarians, help me make this one hell of an epic story. Please tell me if you think this is a good idea? Is it confusing? What should I edit out or make better? What should I keep?**

**Again, thanks so much for reading!**


	2. Chapter One: Masquerade

**Chapter One:**

**Masquerade**

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Katara trekked down a dim passageway. Shards of emerald-colored crystals illuminated the way, all the way through the labyrinth to the cavern where Triumph Masquerade Ball was. The crystals protruded from here and there in the tunnel she was in. Katara wandered in the Crystal Catacombs that slithered under the Earth King's palace to the gaping cavern where she, Aang and the others would dance the night away underground. Katara was dolled up with her hair pinned and had donned on her most extravagant blue dress just for the ball.

She'd been awaiting to attend the Triumph Masquerade Ball in Ba Sing Se for weeks now. The Triumph Masquerade Ball was the first time all three nations and Avatar Aang could finally coexist in a united harmony, marking for the first time peace and balance had returned in a hundred years. It was quite pivotal night for her, and for everyone else for that matter. Yet, no matter how much thrill electrified through her veins, she still felt the memories of long ago creep into her mind, haunting and harassing her.

Katara felt like the crystals were slowly closing in on her with their jagged, sharp fingers. It brought back memories from long ago when they had fought Azula, the Dai Li... and Zuko... Katara's stomach felt like green, venomous ooze was swirling inside. She didn't want to reminisce about the past, at all. But, she couldn't stop herself from thinking about Zuko. She had once despised him with an icy passion. How could've she forgiven him after he pretty much made sure Aang was murdered down in these very catacombs? Nowadays, she considered him a dear friend. A dear friend who sporadically irked her here and there, but nonetheless a dear friend. It had been an arduous time forgiving him, but in the end, she did. It was becaue she realized his deep-rooted pain and saw that it tormented him endlessly. It was the same pain she still felt. The same pain she lied to everyone about. She'd act fine, but on the inside, she was far from it.

"Keep it together, Katara," Katara reminded herself in a whisper as a gaping hole appeared before her. The gaping hole opened up in the ballroom where she could see a blue, glittering waterfall cascading down from the ceiling which then bled into a stream that carved its way around the cavern. Stalagmites and stalactites stabbed the air. Large clusters of emerald-glowing crystals hung from the ceiling and protruded from the walls and stone ground. The ballroom was filled with a sea of people from the Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe.

"Katara!" A jubilant voice hollered. Katara looked over to see Aang in his best orange and yellow attire along with his staff. He stood to the left side of the entrance. Aang quickly walked up to her, greeting her. "Whoa... you look so pretty," he complimented. Katara blushed.

"Thanks, Aang," She replied. Slowly their necks arched and the crown of their heads lightly caressed. Their lips met. Aang's lips fervently moved. Adrenalized kisses passed between their lips. Katara broke away. She was rubescent from it all. "Aang..." she whispered. The rosiness faded. It didn't feel right with him. It had never felt right with him. Katara loved Aang. She loved him with all that her heart could love, but she still hadn't fallen into the depths of what true love was supposed to be.

A moment of silvery silence percolated through the air.

"Shall we go?" Aang finally remarked and gestured towards the entrance to the ballroom where the Triumph Masquerade Ball was in full swing.

"Yes!" Katara exclaimed, exhilarated at the idea.

Aang wrapped his arm around Katara as they both slipped on their masks as they walked towards the entrance. Aang's mask was blue with silver airbender swirls, while Katara's was an intricately designed sapphire blue mask with silver lines of water flowing and slithering around it.

An announcer stood to their left as they stood on the top step of the vast stone steps that descended down into the ballroom.

"Avatar Aang escorting Katara of the Southern Water Tribe," Aang ordered the announcer.

The announcer turned and inhumanly announced it, silencing the whole cavern, "Now presenting Avatar Aang! Escorting Katara of the Southern Water Tribe!" The sea of people in their intricate masks that cloaked their eyes craned their necks to gaze at Aang and Katara.

An enthralled smile radiantly slashed across Katara's face. Katara picked up a part of her sapphire blue dress as Aang and her began their descent into the cavern. Everyone began to clap their hands wildly and whistles of celebration reverberated through the crystal cavern. Aang grinned at the electrifying thrill of it all. As they finally made it to the bottom another name rang thunderously aloud through the air. Aang had already begun to talk to some fellow masqueraders while Katara's hand was firmly clasped in his. "Now presenting Fire Lord Zuko!" A shudder rippled through her. Katara turned around to get a glimpse of the Fire Lord. Standing way above was Zuko in his crimson and gold robes with a fire-colored mask concealing his eyes. He was intimidating and tempting all at once. Katara found herself gazing at him, watching him descend down in his flaming glory.

As he descended down, Zuko caught her gaze. His glimmering, gold eyes smoldered as he found himself drowning into the shimmering, blue pools that were her eyes. He halted for a moment. Could she look more beautiful than ever? Then, Zuko saw Aang holding Katara's hand. A bolt of jealous lightning lacerated through Zuko, igniting his fiery rage. Instantly, his gaze returned to Katara, who was now talking to Aang and the other masqueraders. He craved her to the point it made his heart ache.

Zuko arrived at the bottom. Aang had by then dragged Katara into the sea of people. Zuko glanced around, searching for her as Mai appeared next to him in her metallic black mask and black-and-scarlet dress. "Hey..." she depressingly greeted, her eyes glassy and dull. Mai cupped his chin and pressed her lips against his in a sorrowful kiss. All the while, Zuko's eyes had finally found her. His gaze followed Katara, who for once more, met his gaze before turning back and smiling at Aang.

The desire for her, the yearning for her... it was slowly plaguing him more and more with each passing day of his life. Even as Mai deepened her emotionless lips against his in this pathetic excuse for a dispassionate kiss, he couldn't help but fall under the spell of his feelings for Katara. Zuko wishing only for her...

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"Is it all rigged together?" A black-masked face lightly inquired to another. The two masked faces stood huddled in their dark robes. They were in a grotto that was illuminated by emerald shards of crystal.

"I did my best, Goro. I should think Lord Kitsune shall be severely delighted with tonight's spectacle that is to transpire in a few moments. Do you not agree?" The other black-masked face murmured.

"No Gaku, I do agree. Are you ready to watch some dazzling and memorable fireworks tonight?" Goro asked the first black-masked face. Gaku, the black-masked face, peered heavenwards at the cavernous ceiling of the underground ballroom. There hung a grand crystal chandelier . It was elegantly carved and emitting heavenly light throughout the cavern.

"Yes, Goro, yes I am..." A dastardly smile streaked across Gaku's face under his mask. Then, Goro and Gaku in their black, fox-faced masks egressed from the grotto into the ballroom.

Far off in the distance Katara waded through the sea of masqueraders, feeling as alone as one could ever be in a sea of masked people. She was looking for someone, but unsure of who, exactly. All she could ascertain was that she hadn't seen him in an awfully long time. Katara circled around, searching for them in the heart of the ballroom. No one. Katara sighed. It felt like fate was leading her down a mystical path of the uncertain. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was supposed to happen right there, under the emerald crystal light that emanated from above.

Suddenly, an eruption blasted overhead. Every masquerader that was dancing and swaying in the colorful sea came to a dead stop and let out shrill, blood-curdling shrieks. Katara gazed up as the colossal crystal chandelier exploded into a symphony of fire. Splinters and shards of crystal rained down over everyone. She was paralyzed.

Terror radiated from within her as she watched the chandelier collapse above her. Slabs of green, glowing crystal shifted and a chasm began to crack through the cavern's ceiling. Right then, the massive crystals began to fall earthwards. All of it was aiming right for Katara.

Katara held her breath. She felt her heart freeze. This was it.

Out of the blue, someone seized her hand. The next moment blossomed out in slow-motion as she was gracefully spun around as if dancing away under a tragedy, and then... Katara came face to face with the Blue Spirit.

She was thunderstruck.

Speechlessness had infected her soul, paralyzing her even more.

The fire swirled above and the shards of green crystal fell down around them like sparkling rain. The moment couldn't have been anymore perfect. The Blue Spirit leaned her back delicately. He arched her back as he pulled her close to his face to the point her face was mere inches away from his mask. Katara's icy blue eyes scintillated with euphoria. She was enraptured.

Her lips parted as she exhaled and she closed her eyes.

The Blue Spirit was about to sink into the moment just as the pillars of crystal crashed around them. The Blue Spirit swung Katara around as they barely missed being crushed by one of the crystal monoliths.

Crystal shards exploded as it all collided into the ground. Glittering clouds of green dust burst through the air. The Blue Spirit swept Katara up in his arms like a princess. He ran with her in his arms from the impending doom like a bat out of hell, just as the ground ruptured open and began to swallow up everything. The fracturing ground splayed out and chased them, fissuring and then engulfing everything in its path. All the other masqueraders were already running up the steps with Avatar Aang shepherding them through the gaping entrance of the cavern. No bender could stop the collapse of the cavern without dying. It was too late. Everyone ran to save their lives.

The Blue Spirit bolted up the stone stairs just as the last of masqueraders disappeared into the haven of the catacomb tunnels. In a flash, the gaping entrance shattered, obstructing the tunnel and walling them inside the cavern that was caving in. Quickly the Blue Spirit noticed a hole in the side of the crumbling wall. He sprinted over with Katara in his arms, who gripped against his black-clothed chest, white-knuckled. He sprung into the tunnel just as an avalanche of silvery stone and glowing crystal walled them into it.

Then there was profound silence.

Katara just stared into the starless shadows of where the Blue Spirit's eyes should've been. She was overcome with the intensity in her heart while her body remained paralyzed and limp in his arms. No thought emerged from the benumbed darkness of her stunned mind. There were only featherlight breaths that could be heard. Besides the dim, emerald brilliance of the crystals, they were surrounded by darkness. After a moment, the Blue Spirit gently freed her from his hold. As she stood, he turned his back from her. "Ummm..." Katara trailed off, uncertain of what to say. The Blue Spirit turned to look at Katara.

"Hmmm... Well if it isn't two masqueraders who didn't get away in time... Lord Kitsune will surely get a thrill out of you two..." an unexpected voice murmured with a raspy, ominous timbre. The Blue Spirit bolted over to Katara, protecting her, as he stood with his dual swords ready to slash. Out of the leaden darkness behind a crystal shard, a silhouette appeared cloaked in blood red attire. The silhouette's head was shrouded with a hood. They wore a vulpine mask that was onyx-black with a scarlet disc imprinted in the forehead. The silhouette looked like a possessed fox.

"Yes, you're right," Another voice uttered, sounding lighter and more forgiving. Then behind the Blue Spirit, a silhouette stepped out of the darkness, looking exactly like the one that stood in front of them. Katara and the Blue Spirit were surrounded. "Now please, join us you two. Please don't make this an overly burdensome ordeal, that'd just be so rude of you..." suddenly, more fox-masked silhouettes emerged from the amorphous darkness. Now they were completely surrounded.

The Blue Spirit inhaled a smooth, cool breath. Then exhaled. His twilight eyes looked at all of them with his piercing gaze. This was it...

In one fell swoop, the Blue Spirit attacked.

Silver whooshed through the air. Lifeblood spurted out like shiny, crimson fireworks. The Blue Spirit had impaled one of the silhouettes. He then mercilessly wrenched out the blade of his sword from the silhouette's chest. A splash of ribboning crimson spattered to the ground from the silhouette's chest cavity as the blade fluidly slithered out. The silhouette fell to his knees. Through his mask he garbled incoherent words as blood streaked out of hi mouth. Then, the silhouette collapsed to the ground, wordlessly. Katara gasped. In that moment, the other fox-faced silhouettes narrowed in on them.

The Blue Spirit swept Katara up in his arms just as the frenzy of fox-face silhouettes pounced on them. He slid under all of them and ran up the side of tunnel wall and bolted down into the green-black murkiness.

Distress pulsed through Katara. All she could do was hold on fiercely for dear life. She winced her eyes shut and burrowed into the Blue Spirit's chest. She could hear his thunderous breaths tearing air in and out. The bursting rhythm of his heart echoed through his chest cavity. Somehow she found solace in being in his arms... listening to his heartbeats and breathing.

They ran through the labyrinth. The echoes of running footsteps chasing them pulsed in his ears. The Blue Spirit made a right and a left, then another right. Yet no matter how many turns he took, the fox-faced silhouettes were on their tail. Suddenly, up ahead, the tunnel forked. The Blue Spirit came to a halt. Katara gripped him tightly. "Do you know where to go!? What should we do!?" Katara cried out, panic-stricken. Her radiant eyes gazed up at him, alarmed.

Instinctively, the Blue Spirit hooked his fingers under his chin. The tenebrous orbs of his mask gazed at her tenderly. Even though he had black, hollow sockets for eyes and never uttered a word... Katara bizarrely felt reassured by him and his cryptic presence. She truly trusted him. The Blue Spirit gazed down at her, the blackness of his eyes sinking deeper and deeper into her. She felt them pierce her heart...

The moment between them faded as the pounding feet of the silhouettes rippled through the tunnel, closer and closer...

The Blue Spirit and Katara looked back. Then he looked at her and she nodded her head. Katara took a sharp inhalation just as the Blue Spirit took off and dashed soundlessly down the left tunnel. "Look at these foot prints! They went this way!" the voice of a fox-masked silhouette echoed down as they ran through the shadowy tunnel. Now the fox-masked silhouettes were on their heels. Agitation splayed through the Blue Spirit. He had to rapidly think of a way to evade them... but what could he do? As if answered by a prayer, a cloud of lively blackness was secluded behind a patch of crystal columns to his left. It was tucked away so no ordinary eye could spy it. Relief spiraled through him.

Right then the Blue Spirit sprung into the blackness hidden by the crystals. Katara and him fell and she landed right on top of him. Katara, mortified, got on her hands and knees. Without warning, the Blue Spirit clasped her down so she collapsed onto his chest right as the footsteps neared them. Both of them froze, silent and still... desperately hoping the masked strangers wouldn't find them.

They listened. Both of them feeling the sharp breathing of their chest cavities pulsing together.

"Where did they go?" A raspy voice said.

"I have no idea," Another replied.

The whole horde of fox-masked strangers talked amongst one another.

"This is a dead end. The footprints stop here. Maybe we should trek back? That masked stranger couldn't gotten with far with that girl, Katara. He may be clever, but not clever enough to outsmart the Foxes of Lord Kitsune."

"Yesss!" The whole horde of silhouettes hollered eerily in unison.

"Come fellow Foxes. Let us hunt the labyrinth," Another voice finally said.

With that, the sound of the mysterious Foxes scuttling away slithered in the air. Katara and the Blue Spirit remained on top of one another until the air emanated dead silence. Right away, the Blue Spirit whisked her up off her feet and leapt out into the tunnel. He delicately put her down and the two of them stood looking down the tunnel, realizing what stood in front of them. It was the surface.

There, at the end of the tunnel was the night sky, bleeding across in a dark cobalt blue with pinpricked stars transpierced into it, shining like diamonds. In the distance, the black silhouette of the Earth King's palace stood before them.

Katara had the urge to bolt out of there and head straight to the palace. Instead, she waited beside the Blue Spirit.

The Blue Spirit began to walk foreword, not looking back at her as he hastened towards the end of the tunnel. "Hey! Wait!" She called after him. The Blue Spirit almost came to a dead stop but pushed himself onwards. He had the hunger to turn back to her, yet he knew he couldn't. It wouldn't be right for him to.

Katara ran after him. "Hey! Wait! I just want to say something to you!" She cried out. Suddenly, he bolted out of the tunnel. Katara sprinted hopelessly after him. Right as she was about to grasp him as they egressed out of the tunnel, he sprung into the air and vanished into the beauteous night. Katara stumbled out of the tunnel and whorled around searching for him. Nothing. Starlit tears crackled against her eyes, hissing with their yearning to fall. A dispiriting loneliness erupted in her heart and soul. She didn't even get a chance to say thank you, or most of all... a chance to say goodbye.

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The Blue Spirit sat far away on the rooftop of the Earth King's palace, clouded over by serene shadows so no one could see him. He watched Katara from afar. His fiery self-loathing burned fiercely inside him. He detested hurting her. However, he had to leave her there. He never wished for her to know who he was. And now the guilt of even making one pearly tear gently cascade down her face ruptured him apart.

Zuko growled thunderously, enraged at himself. He tore off his Blue Spirit mask and threw it across the rooftop. The mask skipped across the rooftop and slid to a halt. Angst seethed inside him. He froze, crouching low, huddling into himself, groaning with a searing wrath. The shocks of his charcoal-black hair veiled parts of his face. His starlit, golden eyes smoldered. Zuko kept hearing the wise old words of his Uncle Iroh chant around his mind, invading every thought. _"Leave it behind..."_ Zuko hadn't left it behind though. He never could. Even drowning the mask didn't stop him from returning to get it. The Blue Spirit was apart of him. In the end, it always would be.

Zuko felt the numbness that had encased his skin gradually wear off. He could feel the piercing agony lacerate through his body, marring it. When those mysterious fox-masked silhouettes, the Foxes, had pounced on him and Katara, they had severely impaled, stabbed and slashed him. Katara had escaped utterly unscathed. He had wrapped his whole body around her, accepting all the pain so she would be safe and sound. That was how much he cared for her.

Zuko sighed. He gazed up to the twinkling diamonds exuding their brilliant, silver light far, far away. He found himself ebbing deep into his emotions for her, Katara. He was spiraling into the fathomless depths of his heart; a place he'd never thought in his wildest dreams could exist within. And right then and there Zuko realized... he was irrevocably and absolutely, falling deeply in love with her.

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*****STAY TUNED*****

_**Chapter Two:**_

_**Fire and Ice**_

**An underground circle who have mysteriously baptized themselves the Foxes have finally revealed themselves to the city of Ba Sing Se with their bombing of the Triumph Masquerade Ball. These rebels are on the rise and threaten to destroy the balance of harmony that has recently blessed the world from Avatar Aang and his friends. In the mean time, will Zuko realize his true fate after all this time? Will Katara disover how she feels for one person is not as it seems? And finally, who exactly is Lord Kitsune of the Foxes? And what does he truly want as he rises from below the city?**

**Find out next time on...**

**Zutara: The Blue SpirIt Rises**

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*****FINALLY*****

**_CHAPTER TWO: FIRE AND ICE_ IS PUBLISHED!**

*****THANKS FOR READING!*****

**Also:**

**Please fellow Zutarians, help me make this one hell of an epic story. Please tell me if you think this is a good idea? Is it confusing? What should I edit out or make better? What should I keep?**

**Again, thanks so much for reading!**


	3. Chapter Two: Fire and Ice

**Chapter Two:**

**Fire and Ice**

* * *

Fire.

That's what was on Zuko's mind.

Fire.

It crackled. Dancing embers of memories swirled in the abyss of his mind where no thought lurked. They were just flickering around, full of desire.

Zuko suddenly snapped out of it. He glanced around. No one was there except the hollow darkness. Zuko sighed, relieved. He relaxed in his chair. In front of him a dazzling fire blazed and roared with black coals smoldering and glowing. Zuko rubbed his forehead. What had happened last night, exactly? He remembered leaving the party cause of...

"Urrr! Those damn Foxes!" Zuko stood up and the flames in the fireplace erupted and clawed at the air with their blistering tendrils. Zuko sighed and kept standing. He detested them. They could have hurt Katara.

Zuko remembered the first time he'd come across them. When they knocked him out as he walked to the Jasmine Dragon to talk to his Uncle Iroh. And the next thing he knew, he was face to face with none other than... Lord Kitsune. Zuko shuddered. He remember being tied up in a dark cave of crystals as Lord Kitsune and his Foxes stood before him. Three of them laughing with their animal-like cackles as he got punch across the face once, twice then three times. Maybe four? His memory was clouded in a blurry haze. All he remembered was feeling a rock-like hand sucker-punch across his face, then spitting out a glittering stream of blood. Athe same thing happening again and again until a thick river of scarlet oozed from his mouth. All the while the silhouette of Lord Kitsune stood before him and slowly approached him. _"Ahhh Fire Lord Zuko... just the person I desired to have sit before me..." _Lord Kitsune's voice rang through Zuko's ears as he stood, staring at the fire remembering it all.

A sharp pain rippled through Zuko's scar. He winced and fell to the ground. The memories came flooding back this time.

One moment from his memory stood out in his mind. It was when Lord Kitsune cupped his bloody face. And Zuko heard Lord Kitsune's voice inside his head again. _"What a beautiful face. Such a shame it was marred with the touch of a corrupt father..." _Lord Kitsune had crooned to him that night.

Crystal beads of sweat rolled down his face. Zuko gritted his teeth. The memory continued to unfold before Zuko as he laid on the floor, writhing in the piercing pain that emanated from his scar. _"Now I have a desire to know what you truly desire, but I think I already know... it's that girl of the Avatar. Well? How sinful, Fire Lord... I would think you were better than that to have a thriving desire for the girl of your dear friend, the Avatar. What a sinful thing indeed... Just a warning from a wise old foxy fox like me, don't fall into temptation. Forbidden fruit killed the foolish fox, you know..."_

Another ripple of pain impaled itself through his scar. Zuko winced loudly. His heart began to tremor rapidly. He felt his skin crinkle and singe like it was on fire as another moment erupted into his mind. _"Since you are not being compliant after explaining everything to you. I will leave you with this. I am not your nemesis. I only seek to better the world for everyone else, like you. But make your nemesis my dear, dear Fire Lord Zuko, and I will be. So, I bid you adieu, my Fire Lord. I solemnly promise to you that by refusing my offer, you have just opened the box of unknown things. I won't be able to stop the chaos that is about to afflict the balance of the world. And all the blood will be on the Avatar's, yours and your friend's hands. You cannot stop me. I know your desire. If I cannot have you on my side, I will make sure your desire is. I will be your downfall, Fire Lord Zuko. So remember that, because fire cannot outwit a fox..."_

In a flash, Zuko's mind became empty with an asphyxiating blackness. A torturous bolt of sharp pain impaled through his eye before melting away. Zuko sat up, gasping desperately for air. An agonizing ache ricocheted through his mind. His feverish body that had felt like it had begun to blister and burn under a mysterious fire, finally began to cool down. Pearly drops of sweat cascaded down his face and neck. He was stunned. The blurry snippets of memories from all those months ago he'd finally remembered them right then and there.

"What the hell just happened?" Zuko asked himself. He tried piecing the memories together. He didn't know why he'd just collapsed in pain, but that was the least of his problems to worry about. He was just as trying to remember how the Truimph Masquerade Ball Bombing related to what he'd just recalled.

"So that's why the Foxes wanted Katara... if they could not have me. They'd be sure to get her on their side by any means necessary..." Zuko realized. Zuko sprung up. He staggered a bit from his body being weak, but gained his balance after a few seconds. Zuko walked to the back of the room that was shrouded in darkness. Zuko halted in front of a colossal chest. He inhaled and exhaled.

_"Leave it behind..."_ The words of Iroh spun around his pounding head.

"No Uncle, Not this time. Never this time." Zuko replied. Then Zuko ripped open the chest, revealing black clothes and the mask of the Blue Spirit to the firelight. Zuko closed his eyes and inhaled.

He picked up the mask. He looked up at his dual swords that were mounted above the chest. "I guess its time for a nice midnight stroll..." Zuko slipped on the Blue Spirit and black clothes. He then sprung out into the dark sea of night with his swords. He'd never thought he'd be checking in on her in the middle of the night. But after what had happened at the Truimph Masquerade Ball, Zuko wasn't sure if anyone associated with him was safe anymore. The only thing that baffled him was, what exactly did Lord Kitsune mean that he had just opened a box of uncertain things? And what was he planning exactly?

All Zuko knew was that the only way to stop it all without hurting anyone and everyone in the world as it slowly hurtled to the mayhem of Lord Kitsune and his Foxes, was to become this. He had to take Lord Kitsune and the Foxes down swiftly and silently before destruction rained down on Ba Sing Se and then the world. Whether he was really doing this for the fire of the world, or his own desire for her... in the end of it all, the Blue Spirit was rising.

* * *

Ice enveloped everything.

It didn't matter how far she sprinted through the labyrinth of ice, it was all closing in on her slowly. She tried to waterbend through the jagged ice walls that gradually encroached on her. Nothing happened. She kept running through the labyrinth. All of the icy, blue walls closing in. Slowly, closer and closer trying to suffocate her. She turned a corner and ran down a long ice tunnel. She sprinted in desperation. She could feel the frigid caress of the ice against her shoulders. Up ahead a giant ice cavern opened up. Panic-stricken, she ran faster. The walls closing in and now she ran sideways, sashaying towards the ice cavern. She felt the pressure of the ice walls on either side of her begin to press against her.

She was only mere feet away just as the walls began to crush her. Right then she vaulted through and came tumbling down, skidding across the ice cavern's frozen ground. The walls thunderously shut, the sound shivered through the air in an echo. She stood up in the ice cavern. She looked around. She was entrapped in the ice cavern.

Out of the blue, the dome ceiling of the cavern rattled. She gazed skywards to the dome ceiling as it quivered fiercely. Blue ice dust flurried down, glittering all around her. Then it happened. Right as the rumbling stopped, all the sharp icicles encrusted into the dome ceiling cracked off and fell. She closed her eyes and raised her arms up, accepting her fate. In a flash, the icicles impaled the frozen ground then erupted and shattered into icy splinters. The girl opened her eyes. A perfect circle of unmarked frozen ground surrounded her. She blinked in surprise.

A sound mumbled from behind her. She twirled around and came face to face with him.

He stood in his mysterious and quiet aura. She smiled looking at his blue mask. It was the stranger who had saved her life. Katara walked towards him and clasped her wrists. His hands slid down her arms, sending an electrifying sensation down her arms to her navel. her hands slithered up around his neck and they slowly embraced...

Katara bolted up right. She was in her bedchamber and the pale golden sunlight was splashed across her room. Katara sighed with relief. After all it was a dream, she really wasn't trapped in a labyrinth of ice with all the walls closing in on her. But she had been trapped in a cavern. She had been right under as the ceiling fell. She had been rescued by a mysterious masked figure...

Katara remember back to last night with the bombing of the Triumph Masquerade Ball. He had saved her... but she wasn't sure who he actually was?

Katara hopped out of bed, remembering they were having a meeting today with the Earth King about what happened that night. Right then her assigned maidservant, Akemi, knocked at the door. "Come in, Akemi!" Katara shouted in glee. The door opened revealing woman with jet-black hair and blunt cut bangs who was dressed in white and emerald green robes.

"Good morning to you, Katara," Akemi said lightly and bowed respectfully towards the Earth King's honored guest. Akemi then walked forward towards Katara and slipped out a stack of blue clothing out from her sleeve. "Your garments and dress are nice and cleaned for you." Akemi half bowed to Katara as she handed it to Katara. "Now Katara, it would be best if you would please wash up and don on your clothes. You should be in the council meeting room soon, as the Earth King wishes."

"Oh, Akemi, you didn't have too!" Katara exclaimed.

"Katara, I am here to help and serve any guest of the Earth King." Akemi said with a bright smile. "Now please get ready, you wouldn't want to be late for such an important meeting." Akemi back away, half bowing all the way to the door. "Katara," She said and bowed right before she disappeared behind the bedchamber doors and into the halls of the palace.

Katara walked towards the washroom to bathe and primp herself for the day's activities. After she bathed and brushed her hair, Katara slipped on her garments. Oddly, Katara found herself feeling actually joyful than the usual blues of melancholy she'd been suffering through. Katara egressed from her bedchamber and began to walk through the extravagant, emerald and gold halls of the palace. In Katara's mind, all her thoughts were going to and fro with him, the masked figure who'd saved her life. Katara kept playing the scene of her dream right before she woke up over and over again inside her head. That feeling of breathtaking electricity rippling under her skin and through her veins as they embraced each other... she wanted to feel that sensation from her dream again. She wanted to feel that sensation again when she was in his arms...

Then her mind began to think of Aang. She loved Aang with all her heart, but was it bad that she was having thoughts of another? Was it bad that it was that mysterious masked figured that had saved her life? Katara sighed as she felt her joy slowly fade away. Aang... She wanted to be with him, but she felt something tug her back everytime. He was so sweet and always there for her. And he was the Avatar for crying out loud! What girl wouldn't want to be with the Avatar? Then again, she did. She loved him..

Katara thought deeply about it all. For her heart, it would have to suffice. It was just a dream. It wasn't like she was bound by destiny to run into her masked savior again. That would be too good to be true. She never felt that feeling before, but she knew she would with Aang, for it just took time.

Katara turned a corner and saw the colossal doors to the council meeting room. Right as she was to open a door up she slammed into someone. "Ah!" Katara hollered as she collapsed to the floor with them.

"Sorry..." the person groaned.

"It's okay," Katara scooted out from under them. "I should've been looking and..." Katara trailed off as she came face to face with Fire Lord Zuko. "Oh my!" Katara cried out. She jolted back and hit the wall.

Zuko quickly sprung up and froze. "Shit! Sorry!"

Both of them looked at one another out of the corner of their eyes, mortified. Zuko became flushed with the color of burning rubies. Katara was parlyzed aginst the wall and humiliation blossomed into pink circles on her beautiful face.

"Well..." Zuko stuttered. "I guess we should be going..."

"Right..." Katara said. Katara stood up and the awkwardly walked through the door.

"So how was your night?" Zuko awkwardly asked in embarrassment.

"Uh, good," Katara turned red and looked away, blushing with a smile as she thought back to her masked savior. She didn't want anyone to see her reaction, especially Zuko cause he'd give her crap about it. It was her secret. He was her secret. Katara quickly gazed back at Zuko. "You?"

"Hmmm... tiring..." Zuko trailed off as he and Katara gazed at the giant emerald-colored table set before them in a vast room. A map of the four nations was painted in the center of table and the Earth King was seated at the head along with his five generals and Bosco the bear. Also seated and waiting were Aang, Sokka, Toph, Suki of the Kyoshi Warriors and Momo, who flew in circle overhead. " Oh, hello everyone..." Zuko said and ran his hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. " Ummm, sorry I'm, I mean, we're late," Zuko gestured to Katara.

"Come sit," the Earth King happily motioned them to two empty seats. "We're about to start talking about the bombing at the Triumph Masquerade Ball amongst other things. Including an idea Avatar Aang wished to discuss with you, Fire Lord Zuko. He says it will change the world as we know it." Katara and Zuko took their seats next ot each other. The group began to discuss how the bombing could have happened and why. All the while Katara thoughts lingered in between her dream of ice and whether truly, could it all suffice?

* * *

"And so you are telling me that some blue masked individual swept down from no where and carried her off?"

"Yes." Two Foxes replied in unison.

"Did the Fire Lord leave before all this happened?"

"Yes sir, I specifically scoped out Fire Lord Zuko and watch him leave with Mai. It wasn't until two hours later that the bombs detonated and that this blue masked individual appeared and took the girl Katara away from our grasp," One of the foxes stated.

"Is Goro telling the truth, Gaku?" Lord Kitsune asked, with his red fox mask with a black disc veiling his face.

"Yes sir, for there would be no reason for me, or Goro, to lie to you," Gaku replied.

"Well, doesn't destiny hand out karma oh so well? The girl I wanted to capture gets conveniently whisked away by some gallant masked hero just in time. Irony and coincidence are so cruel to some of us in this world..." Lord Kitsune trailed off and stared into the crystal and emerald fire that burned before him. It was the only source of light in the underground cave they were in. Lord Kitsune swirled around, his black cape swirling behind him. "Do you know who that masked figured is, exactly?" Lord Kitsune's face was mere inches away from Goro's and Gaku's.

Goro and Gaku looked at one another before Goro said this, "Uh no, sir. We kind of don't."

"You foolish imbeciles!" Lord Kitsune whirled around and slashed his black-clothed hand across both of their faces. "Do you not remember during the last year of the Hundred Year War that the Fire Nation had posted wanted posters of their enemies?!" Lord Kitsune furiously yelled. He whirled around again, shoving a Fire Nation poster in both Gaku's and Goro's faces. "This! This!" He yelled thunderously at them. "This is none other than the Blue Spirit!" Lord Kitsune threw the old Fire Nation wanted poster into the emerald and crystal fire. He watched as it turned molten black and burst into ash and green flames. Lord Kitsune was breathing heavily.

"I have tried my best with both of you, but I'm giving you a break since you cannot seem to handle a simple kidnap and assassinate plan. I have something better in mind..." He finally said. "Since I've tried to warn the world of the danger that is to come through the Fire Lord, and our assignation and kidnapping didn't quite go as it should've because of you two. I have someone else in mind for my task..." Lord Kitsune turned around. Goro and Gaku shivered in their black cloaks at their leader A dastardly smile streaked across Lord Kitsune's face under his mask.

"Hello there," He said to the silhouette that stepped out from the shroud of darkness behind Goro and Gaku. "Goro, Gaku, meet our new guest. You'll be serving under them now, which I hope should suffice." Lord Kitsune purred with a hint of laughter. Goro and Gaku spun around, frightened when they came face to face with the silhouette. "Now here is my desire. It's time we stir up a little ice and fire..."

* * *

*****STAY TUNED*****

_**Chapter Three:**_

_**A Game of Thrones**_

**Now the plans of Lord Kitsune are put into motion. What will happen? And how will Aang's idea change the world? Will it truly bring the destruction of the world? or will it reign in an era of peace that will silence Lord Kitsune and his foxes?**

**FInd out next time on...**

**Zutara: The Blue Spirit Rises**

* * *

*****THANKS FOR READING!*****

**Also:**

**Please fellow Zutarians, help me make this one hell of an epic story. Please tell me if you think this is a good idea? Is it confusing? What should I edit out or make better? What should I keep? **

**Again, thanks so much for reading!**


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